KUALA LUMPUR: Italy’s Ambassador to Malaysia, Cristiano Maggipinto, has proposed for Malaysian airlines to consider establishing direct flight for the Rome–Kuala Lumpur sector as part of its strategies to boost tourism between Italy and Malaysia.
He said Malaysia has potentials and fit the bill of Italian holidaymakers.
To demonstrate his seriousness, Maggipinto said he had also met with Malaysian low–cost carrier Air Asia in April to discuss the proposal.
“One of the obstacles that we see is there is no direct connectivity between Malaysia and Italy. So we asked Air Asia to consider this possibility to open direct connection since they also fly to other intercontinental destinations.
“Response from the airline had been encouraging but of course there are many economic decisions that they need to consider,” he told Bernama International News Service in an interview, here, recently.
Currently, there is no direct flight between Malaysia and Italy after Malaysia Airlines ceased its service for the sector in 2012, while no Italian airlines are servicing this route.
On the same development, Maggipinto also urged the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry to intensify promotional campaigns in Italy to attract more Italian tourists to Malaysia.
“Malaysia’s tourism has a lot of potentials. But it is not so well known in Italy. Malaysia is an exotic yet modern country, rich with history, nature, and cultures.
